Be good to your daughter
by Deathofme
Summary: Oneshot. House gives testimony in court for an abuse case.


**A/N It's a very long one-shot, but it wouldn't really work any other way. Hope you all enjoy, please review!**

"We'd like to call Dr. Gregory House, M.D. to the stand."

Dr. House lightly drummed his fingers on the head of his cane as he strode over to the witness box, pausing a little impatiently at the Bailiff's gesture for him to swear on the bible, and repeating the words with a touch of nonchalance. Overall, he was behaving himself and sat in the box with no complaint.

"Dr. House, would you care to tell the court how you came to meet the plaintiff?"

"I met the plaintiff and her child on the day of March thirteenth, oh-six in Princeton Plainsboro Clinic. I was the doctor on call."

"What was the plaintiff and her child at the clinic for?"

* * *

"Fainting spells." 

House cocked an eyebrow and gave the woman the most inapproachable gaze as he could possibly muster at ten in the morning. She seemed a little deterred but bravely pushed along.

"It's happened twice already, I don't know why. It's very unusual. She's just up and about, doing her daily routine and all of a sudden she drops to the ground, unconscious. I don't know what to do about it, I don't know what's wrong with her."

House looked towards the little girl, file aged her at twelve years, as if to confirm her mother's story and she nodded slightly.

"Do you see lots of red and black stars, maybe some birds that start flying around your head in circles?"

A disapproving look from the mother.

"No…everything just goes black."

"Okay, have you been feeling tired lately? Any change in your diet, Do you dfeel an odd taste in your mouth, any unusual discoloration…"

And House rattled off the standard questions, and the girl shook her head no to each one. He frowned a little and then grabbed a prescription slip.

"You're probably just lacking some iron in your blood, take these happy pills, let them make you happy and get out of here and make me happy, alright?"

The mother snatched the slip out of his hand and was about to storm out the door (House sneaking a little wet raspberry behind her back) when the daughter made to get up and fell down.

"Lizzy!"

"Nurse! Get me a stretcher!"

The mother was being hysterical and before she could shake her daughter into oblivion in a feeble attempt to wake her up, House yanked her aside and forcefully made her look back at him.

"When was her last fainting spell?"

"Just this morning-"

"Give me a time within the hour!"

"Around eight…"

House looked to the little girl being rolled away from the exam room and frowned again. Damn. The mother was right. This was very unusual.

* * *

"You want me to examine the twelve-year old fainter? Has this case gone to Diagnostics yet?" 

House shrugged.

"No. It may never, but we'll never know if it's worth taking unless we examine her, now won't we?"

"Why do you need me?"

House gave Cameron a significant look and she knew not to press the matter further.

"Full physical. I'm not touching an inert twelve-year old girl."

He pulled a funny face this time.

"That would just look _creepy_ now wouldn't it?"

* * *

"The results of the physical exam concluded that the patient, Elizabeth Donahue was in good, general health. However, Dr. Cameron found a small bruise behind the patient's left ear and it warranted further investigation. She believed it required the patient to be examined under ultra-violet light." 

"And could you please explain Dr. House, how placing a patient under ultra-violet light can lead you to any discrepancies with your original findings?"

House sat holding his cane in front of him, and with his hands linked placidly on top. He would have normally found it within himself to speak with a more obnoxious tone, maybe slouch or generally act with an annoying air, but he spoke clearly, concisely and with no drama.

"The ultra-violet light can show bruising that is very deep below the skin and that has not surfaced yet, or never will."

"And you found such bruising on the patient?"

"Yes."

* * *

Cameron looked like she was going to be sick. She stared at the photographs and had a nervous hand fluttering over her mouth. 

"It's terrible."

Chase sighed,

"Classic signs of abuse."

House sat, twirling his cane in the air with nimble fingers.

"Hundred bucks says it's the mom."

Chase looked at him,

"Hundred bucks on the dad."

Cameron hadn't taken in a word anyone said and was still staring, engrossed with the photographs.

"I want to get a rape kit processed right now."

House snorted with disgust,

"Every little girl who walks in with some bruises doesn't mean she's the victim of sexual abuse. You're jumping to conclusions again, all because of the goodness of your heart."

Cameron was not in the mood to let him ridicule her and pivoted sharply to look at him.

"Look at the photographs House. Look at how the bruises are shaped and where they're placed."

House didn't look, he had already examined them.

"Yes, and? They are the classic signs of abuse, not sexual abuse. There were no bruises along her inner thigh or near her genital opening. The majority of the bruising is along the back of her head, her shoulders and her neck."

"House you can't be sure until a rape kit is processed."

Cameron was looking at him with desperate eyes but he didn't budge.

"No."

"House-"

"No. We're not doing a rape kit unless it's called for. Besides, this isn't even your case. I ask you for help with a physical and now you're running off to 'save another life and make the world a better place' without me. Shoo, you've got that guy who's…what? His dick turned green or something right?"

"He's _discharging_ green, his dick hasn't changed colours, and you should do the kit House."

"Not unless it's called for."

"It's called for!"

Foreman interrupted what could have become a very nasty shouting match by walking in, oblivious to the entire situation.

"Foreman!"

Dr. Foreman looked up and was just about to walk right out of the office again until House caught him.

"Run an MRI on this patient for me."

House waved the case file at him and Foreman crossed his arms over his chest. He looked tired and anything from amused.

"Look House, unless you put this case with Diagnostics, I'm not going to waste my time and start running a bunch of tests for you. I have other cases you know."

House made little weepy eyes at him.

"Could you refuse a dying, little, twelve-year old girl?"

Foreman stopped and he wavered, then accepted the case file.

"She's not dying, by the way."

Chase drawled over his cup of coffee and Foreman shot an annoyed look at House before sighing and leaving to run the test.

"What do you need an MRI done for, anyway?"

House and Cameron both looked at Chase as if he were the biggest idiot in the world.

"Someone's slapping around little Lizzy, and if it has anything to do with her fainting spells, it'll be in the brain."

* * *

"Are these the results of the first MRI's?" 

House looked at the x-rays on display.

"Yes."

"Could you walk us through them?"

"The results were conclusive of general neurological health."

"So you're saying the first MRI's showed that the bruising along the back of her head had no affect on her brain or skull whatsoever?"

"Correct."

House limped down the hallway, with his usual, purposeful stride and when he passed by a certain pair of glass doors he slowed down, and popped his head in. It was the fainter's room and he walked in, ever droll.

"Okay mom, is it you or daddy slapping around Lizzy?"

The mother who had been by her daughter's side exhaustively looked up in confusion, not quite registering what House had just asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Which one of you is socking her to oblivion?"

He jerked his head towards the young girl, swathed in the hospital sheets.

"How dare you come in here and accuse me of something like that, who the hell do you think you are-"

"You seem quite aggressive, is it you?"

The mother gaped, and finally found words again,

"No!"

"Then is it dear old dad?"

"No, no, how does this have anything to do with my daughter? What are you trying to get at?"

"Look, the kid's been slapped around and I'd like to know who."

House paused a moment, and quickly added as an afterthought,

"It's very important to the case."

"I have never raised a hand to my daughter-"

"Has your husband?"

"Her father would never do such a thing."

The mother looked at him fiercely as if saying that with enough conviction would make it true. He looked exasperatedly at her and then to Lizzy.

"What say you?"

The mother rounded on her daughter now, quite fed up with the whole sordid affair and looking at her daughter to end it. However,Lizzy squirmed under their gazes and House had seen this many times before.

"I'll have to ask you to please leave the room Ms. Donahue."

"Why?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality."

_Stick that up your ass._

He gave her a smug look and shooed her out of the room. After he slammed the glass door shut in her face and closed the blinds to add insult to injury, he sat down beside Lizzy.

"So. Talk."

"He doesn't mean it."

* * *

"So the patient informed you that the defendant had caused the multiple bruises?" 

"That is correct."

"The defendant and the plaintiff had divorced only a couple years ago,"

The lawyer walked around the room, House never understood why but they always liked to stroll around, and addressed the entire court.

"The defendant had custody for weekends, and this is the presumed time of abuse. Please, continue Dr. House."

_Yeah, don't worry about interrupting me._

"The patient informed me that this was chronic abuse and it had been happening for a very long time. Two years approximately, and upon further investigation we were able to find evidence to support that claim. Some old, shredded muscle that never healed properly…"

* * *

"He's just a sad, old guy really. The whole world's been pissing down on him and sometimes he doesn't know how else to get his frustration out. He just snaps and gets a little carried away. It happens." 

House gave a little 'hmph' of disbelief and gave her a knowing look.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Didn't you dad ever smack you on the head or move you out of the way when you did something bad?"

There was mock-petulance in House's voice, it made her giggle a little,

"Yeah, but I'm a _boy_. We're supposed to get smacked around."

He let himself smirk a little as she brightened to him.

"You think that's why I keep fainting?"

House mused and looked curiously at the wall, fiddling with his cane.

"I don't know. Still, consider it a good thing we've got proof your father's been hitting you. Now you can put him in the slammer."

"Is it really such a big deal?"

House paused from getting up and looked at her incredulously.

"You're still trying to protect him?"

"He's my dad. Hasn't your dad given you hell before? It's just how it is."

House tapped his cane against the floor a couple times, pursing his lips.

"My father may have given me hell, but it wasn't through hitting me."

* * *

"Cameron!" 

House barked across the hallway and fuming, he strode quickly down to try and catch the immunologist who was desperately praying the elevator came soon.

"Cameron, damn you to hell!"

"Look, it has to be done-"

"You ran to Cuddy and got her to veto with you and undermine my decision. I told you not to go through with the rape kit!"

Cameron looked scared, as she always was when House was mad at her, but as usual she persisted, never one to give up the good fight.

"I did the right thing."

House looked at her with such utter despair,

"Oh stop it, you always going on about doing the right thing, and being a good person-blah, blah, _crap_. I won't have you go through with this."

"Why are you so against it House?"

House fumed and glared at her. The elevator doors opened and he looked inside. He removed his hands from either side of her face and waved towards the open elevator.

"Fine. Go ahead. Go stick your fingers up a little girl and traumatize her. I hope it is necessary for her sake and yours."

The doors closed before Cameron could say anything, her eyes wide with surprise.

* * *

"What were the results of the rape kit Dr. House?" 

"The results were negative. Elizabeth's hymen was still intact, there was no sign of vaginal tearing, bruising, irregularity and no sign of menstrual flow or other vaginal fluids."

His face was stonier here, and Cameron winced from her seat in the audience. House didn't look at her and she was grateful for it.

* * *

Elizabeth had cried during the exam. Despite Cameron's calm reassuring and soothing, the little girl had been terrified. She just didn't understand what was going on, the feeling was uncomfortable to the extreme and she kept moaning that she felt very sick about it and ended up vomiting. Cameron got her out of the gurney as quickly as possible, and was just as shaken up as Elizabeth. 

House had been standing outside of the exam room the entire time, leaning pensively against his cane. When Cameron came out with the distraught girl, she looked up at him beseechingly and with a consenting nod of his head, passed the girl onto him.

"Come on, let's get lunch."

She wiped her eyes and padded along beside him.

"Could I go to the bathroom first?"

House whistled and tried to avoid the stares he was getting as he waited outside the ladies room, tapping his cane and twirling it in the air. When Elizabeth shuffled out, after having washed her face and cleaned herself, he motioned towards the elevator.

"The cafeteria's downstairs."

"I'm going down in this?"

She plucked at the hospital gown and House smiled.

"Oh don't worry, everyone in the hospital wears that and looks retarded. Just like you."

She gave him a rueful smile and the two walked down to the cafeteria. House used every dirty trick he knew to hide food and get away with paying less than he should have. He slipped her a wink to make sure she wouldn't squeal and got a soft giggle instead.

"So why did Dr. Cameron have to do that test?"

"She didn't have to, but she was checking to see if you were sexually abused."

"Huh?"

House squirmed in his seat, his mouth half-full of his favored reuben. _Oh don't make me spell it out for you._

"You know…if your father sexually molested you—for a twelve-year old of this day and age you're incredibly naive you know. All you little assholes run around wearing the skankiest clothes I've ever seen, and running your mouths off about screwing, dicks and bj's-"

"I know what a bj is!"

She cried indignantly, definitely not the same quiet girl as she was around her mother,

"I just…I didn't know it felt like that…"

House's chewing slowed as he gazed at her, staring down at the floor, shuffling her feet a little embarrassedly.

"It's pretty bad when it happens then, huh?"

"Yeah. But getting slapped around is bad too."

"I already told you, my dad's normal."

"The normal way a father's supposed to screw with your head and give you hell, is to place high expectations on you, yammer on about what college you'll go to, how many kids you're going to have, to get married, to make lots of money, and then keep being disappointed and telling you what a useless shit you are and that you'll never make them smile. You know?"

"So your dad did all that?"

House continued chewing and shrugged to the ceiling.

"Sure. He was subtle about it though, so it was a little sneakier. But I can tell. He's always going to be disappointed with me."

"But you went to meds school and you make a lot of money, right?"

"I guess I was just born wrong then, and nothing I do will make up for it."

"You mean your leg?"

House cocked his head and smiled, amused at himself and the girl. Why was he babbling all this crap at her? Ah, what the hell.

"Naw, I wish. It would make it less complicated."

Elizabeth tried to process it all, but it went high above her head and she shook her head, trying to clear it of muddled thoughts.

"Wow, I'd rather be slapped arou-"

In mid-shake, her hair tousling back and forth, her eyes suddenly rolled to the back of her head and her body began seizing.

"Elizabeth!"

* * *

"The patient went into seizure. This is when I discovered the true root of her problem. She had an aneurysm in her brain and it finally blew. It could have presented at any time, and anywhere on her body, but the chronic physical abuse made it worse and is the most probable cause of it leading up to the brain." 

House looked at the new MRI tests on display to the court and gestured to a certain area.

"That…is where the aneurysm blew. It was hidden before in the MRI's by the temporal lobe."

The lawyer nodded and he stopped mid-stroll and looked at House long and hard.

"And this aneurysm was the cause for the patient's current brain damage?"

Foreman squeezed in beside Chase, and now all the doctors were present in the courtroom, silently watching House from their seats as spectators. Cameron's eyes were shining, and noticing this, Foreman handed her a tissue.

House, sitting up on the stand had been somewhat laidback. Nothing had caused him to express any sort of emotion and he had not been excitable. But as he looked from the MRI test results and to the lawyer and back and forth, he began to emanate a quiet, simmering anger.

"Yes."

The courtroom was silent and Ms. Donahue hugged her daughter close to her, and Elizabeth just stared off into space with vacant eyes.

"Thank you Dr. House, is there anything else you would like to say?"

House sighed now, his anger swirling out of him with the long exhale. Now he just looked tired. Very, very weary and he looked at no one in particular when he said this.

"Fathers…be good to your daughters."

* * *

END 

**ETA: To answer a few questions that arose, it seems Lizzy's father and House's father are getting confused for each other. Lizzy's father is the one that uses physical abuse. House compares the two for the purpose of showing Lizzy that her situation is abnormal and wrong. House mentions different types of "jerkhood" (as a reviewer so put it) but he is very aware of the difference between that and flat out abuse, as am I. If that wasn't clear in the fic, then that is my fault and I apologize, but in no way am I condoning or attempting to trivialize physical abuse.**


End file.
